“Andrzej Duda will sign the act on common courts,” said the President’s spokesman Krzysztof Łapiński. Changes in the way head judges are appointed and dismissed, which will give the Minister of Justice greater power, and the imposition of random assignment of cases to judges are the two most important provisions of the amended act.
On 15 July, the Senate adopted amendments to act on the National Council of the Judiciary and lower courts.
The President announced on Monday that he would veto the acts on the Supreme Court and the National Council of the Judiciary. “I have decided to send back to the Sejm, that is, to veto, the law on the Supreme Court, as well as the law on the National Council of the Judiciary, because the Sejm caused them to be linked to each other,” he said.
His spokesman announced that the President would sign the act on common courts.
Draft amendment to the act on common courts
The following changes are introduced by the bill.
1. The act grants the Minister of Justice the power to dismiss within six months of the day the law comes into force the heads and deputy heads of common courts without the need to consult the general assemblies of the courts about the candidates. The Minister of Justice will also have the power to appoint new heads and deputy heads of common courts.
As of today, the head judges of appellate and regional courts are appointed by the Minister of Justice after consultation with general assemblies of the courts. Head judges of district courts are appointed by heads of appellate courts after consultation with judges of a given district court and the chief justice of the regional court.
The draft abolishes the model, in which head judges of appellate and regional courts are appointed after consultation with general assemblies (and, in case of a negative recommendation, with the approval of the National Council of the Judiciary).
2. The draft also stipulates that heads of appellate, regional and district courts may be dismissed by the Minister of Justice during their term of office, in the event of gross or persistent failure to perform official duties; if the continuation of these functions cannot be reconciled with the good of the system of justice for some other reason; if it has been determined that the performance of duties required for the administrative oversight or organization of the court’s work or the work of lower courts, has been exceptionally ineffective; or if the judge has submitted a resignation.
Today, the head judges of appellate and regional courts may be dismissed by the Minister of Justice during the term of office in the event of gross failure to perform official duties and if the continuation of these functions cannot be reconciled with the good of the system of justice for some other reason.
Random assignment of cases
3. The draft requires that cases be assigned to judges within each category randomly and equitably. The principle of the immutability of the adjudication panel is introduced. A judge of a district court or prosecutor with at least ten years of service can become the judge of an appellate court.
4. It will be possible to appoint a judge to a position in the Chancellery of the President or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Coordinators for international cooperation, European law and human rights in civil and criminal cases would also be appointed in judicial regions.
5. The amendment would also allow women who are judges or prosecutors of retirement age, that is, 60 years, to retire. The institution of a rehabilitation leave for judges would also be created.
The transfer of a judge to other departments
6. In his objections to the law on common courts, the Ombudsman stated that the act introduced new ways of exerting pressure on judges by making it possible to transfer a judge to another department without his or her consent.
This could be seen as a hidden disciplinary measure against nonconformist judges, who would thus be obliged to hear cases outside their area of expertise. Moreover, the Ombudsman believes that the transfer of a judge to another department will reduce the judicial efficiency of the judge, who will need more time to hear cases of an unfamiliar type,” pointed out the Ombudsman.
The bill lacks the provision that a transfer without the judge’s consent may not result in a change of locality where the judge is serving, which could happen if the reorganization of the judiciary led to the creation of non-local departments,” he added.
Źródło: tvn24.pl